The Conversation

Venezuelan migrants face crime, conflict and coronavirus at Colombia’s closed border

Written by Annette Idler, Visiting Scholar, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University; Director of Studies at the Changing Character of War Centre, and Senior Research Fellow, Dept. of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford

Venezuelans try to enter Colombia at the closed Simon Bolivar international bridge borders crossing, March 16, 2020. Normally, 40,000 Venezuelans come into Colombia every day.Schneyder Mendoza/AFP via Getty Images)

Millions of Venezuelans fleeing their crisis-ridden country already had plenty to worry about on their journeys, from food to transport...

Minneapolis' 'long, hot summer' of '67 – and the parallels to today's protests over police brutality

Written by Rashad Shabazz, Associate Professor at the School of Social Transformation, Arizona State University

Police stand guard on Plymouth Avenue as firemen battle fires on July 21, 1967. AP Photo/Robert Walsh

The scene was intense. Black residents of Minneapolis angered over an incident of police brutality fought with officers in the streets and set buildings ablaze. Many were injured; dozens were arrested. Eventually the National Guard, called in to...

Why are white supremacists protesting the deaths of black people?

Written by Matthew Valasik, Associate Professor of Sociology, Louisiana State University

A member of the far-right Boogaloo Bois group walks next to protestors in Charlotte, N.C., on May 29, 2020.Logan Cyrus/AFP via Getty Images

As protests about police violence among black people continue and become more widespread across the U.S., certain individuals and groups have begun to stand out – including anarchists, agitators and...

How to be as safe as possible in your house of worship

Written by Claudia Finkelstein, Associate Professor of Family Medicine, Michigan State University

In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the Sunshine Cathedral holds a drive-in Easter service in its parking lot. Each car received a Ziploc bag with a prayer card, palm leaf and pre-packaged communion.Getty Images / Joe Raedle

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released what it calls “general considerations” on safe actions for...

Summer visitors to American parks choose safety first over freedom to roam

Written by B. Derrick Taff, Assistant Professor, Recreation, Park and Tourism Management, Professor-in-Charge of Graduate Studies, Pennsylvania State University

Utah's Bryce Canyon National Park hosted more than 2.5 million visitors in 2019.Anqi Lu/Unsplash, CC BY

In a typical summer, millions of Americans head outdoors to national parks, hiking trails and rivers across the U.S. This summer, because of COVID-19 precautions, getting outdoors will be different, although how different isn’t certain.

My...

A window into the hearts and minds of billionaire donors

Written by Hans Peter Schmitz, Associate Professor, University of San Diego

Spanx founder Sara Blakely has signed the Giving Pledge.Marla Aufmuth/Getty Images for Massachusetts Conference for Women

As the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic toll increases, many billionaires and their foundations are making very public efforts to pitch in.

This push to give money to support everything from food banks to vaccine research comes...

What goes into the toilet doesn’t always stay there, and other coronavirus risks in public bathrooms

Written by William Petri, Professor of Medicine, University of Virginia

Public restrooms aren't known for cleanliness to begin with.Jax10289/istock via Getty Images

Most public restrooms are grungy in the best of times. Now, we have the coronavirus risk to contend with, too. There are lots of risks – dirty sinks and door handles, airborne particles and other people in small, enclosed spaces who may or may not be...

Science of 'Seinfeld'

Written by Bill Sullivan, Professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Indiana University

Actors Jason Alexander (George), Jerry Seinfeld (Jerry), Michael Richards (Kramer) and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Elaine) stand behind bars in a scene during the last days of filming the final episode in Studio City, California, April 3, 1998. David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images

It’s been 31 years since a groundbreaking show about nothing first hit...

A few superspreaders transmit the majority of coronavirus cases

Written by Elizabeth McGraw, Professor of Entomology and Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University

A few people in the crowd will be responsible for the bulk of a disease’s spread.Pacific Press /LightRocket via Getty Images

The coronavirus has traveled the globe, infecting one person at a time. Some sick people might not spread the virus much further, but some people infected with the SARS-CoV-2 are what epidemiologists call...

Uprisings after pandemics have happened before – just look at the English Peasant Revolt of 1381

Written by Susan Wade, Associate Professor of History, Keene State College

In this 1470 illustration, the radical priest John Ball galvanizes the rebels.The British Library

As a professor of medieval Europe, I’ve taught the bubonic plague, and how it contributed to the English Peasant Revolt of 1381. Now that America is experiencing widespread unrest in the midst of its own pandemic, I see some interesting...